8mm Forum: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

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Topic: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Pasquale DAlessio
Film God

Posts: 3523
From: Bristol,RI, USA
Registered: May 2010

posted January 14, 2012 03:43 AM

He's a cut above the rest!

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Lee Mannering
Film God

Posts: 3216
From: The Projection Box
Registered: Nov 2006

posted January 16, 2012 05:54 AM

Very nostalgic reading all the above and I recall hiring the full length super 8 feature in the 70’s from Barry Wiles Films who had a superb film library and always encouraged me when visiting his shop way back then. Such good memories.

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James N. Savage 3
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1375
From: Washington, DC
Registered: Jul 2003

posted January 18, 2012 07:27 AM

As I mentioned in the original review, this movie was like super 8 "gold" back in the 70's. TCM was released to theaters for a short time in '74. Then received a very short re-release in the later 70's. It did not receive a wide release again until the 80's, when New Line Pictures bought the rights. So, owning this super 8 print in the 70's certainly raised more than a few eyebrows

Sidenote: When I was a senior in high school (1981), some teachers wanted me to show this after school and sell tickets to raise money for the senior class trip. I even ran a clip in the auditorium before school as a promotion for the event. The crowd went wild. When word about this got out, students were falling over each other trying to buy tickets (a sell-out crowd for sure). When the top school administraters got wind of what was going on, they pulled the plug & said NO WAY! Boo. [Wink]

.

James.

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Hugh Thompson Scott
Film God

Posts: 3063
From: Gt. Clifton,Cumbria,England
Registered: Jan 2012

posted February 29, 2012 05:02 AM

James,I was like yourself back then,showing this film to all and
sundry, even a public show to raise funds for a child who was
very sick and wanted to go to Disneyland but was too ill to travel.
The version I got was one of the first run,as I'd paid for the print
weeks in advance.The film was supplied in blue and white card
boxes with no illustrations and mounted on automatic spools,
5x400 of which the first four were brim full and the fifth held
about 100'.I thought the colour was excellent apart from a
couple of washed out scenes I didn't notice any red scenes and
this film has been shown scores of times.Print was slightly
grainy,but that was due to it being shot on 16mm and then
blown up to 35mm, so considering the transitions it went through, I think the print was very good. Regarding the Logo
for Bryanston, you'll find the same logo on the print of the
classic Sci-Fi "Dark Star" that has similar print quality to TCM
Happy days,when after a session in the pub,it was back to my
gaff with the boys and if it wasn't one of the afore mentioned
films it was some other "horror" or "Spaghetti westerns".It was
good for a while, then video took hold.

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Hugh Thompson Scott
Film God

Posts: 3063
From: Gt. Clifton,Cumbria,England
Registered: Jan 2012

posted March 02, 2012 05:37 PM

Coming back in it must have been a year after the longer version
was first released that a revised slightly shorter version was put
out probably about the same time that Derann had the 17min
version out while Ivers ran 21.If memory serves me correct
I'm pretty sure that Derann also had 17 min versions of other
Iver releases like "Treasure Island".In short something must've
been said and the Derann short releases were withdrawn,I do know that Derann had the 16mm features in their hire library.
As has already been stated the DFS version of "chain saw"
wasn't very good including dupey colour.Thunderbird also did
a very good trailer reel that included this and "Blood Feast",
"Two Thousand Maniacs" etcI still have my copy and colour is
still very good and this is after 34 years.

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James N. Savage 3
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1375
From: Washington, DC
Registered: Jul 2003

posted March 03, 2012 06:20 AM

Hugh- Very neat and interesting stories about showing this movie. Kids today would never understand these sorts of things. Everything is so instant now. Pretty much anything you want to see now can be instantly watched on "You-Tube", etc. [Roll Eyes]

. Back in the 70's we cherished our little 10 or 15 minute digests. There was a certain satisfaction to it, and I don't think kids experience it today with so much "instant gratification". Its truley thier loss, and its ashame.

Oh by the way, I have that trailer reel too. Its a neat reel. I think I got it from Canterbury Films around 1980. Its always had a sort of slight sepia look to it, with some colors. I'll have to see how mine's held up through the years.

James.

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Brian Hendel
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 902
From: New York, New York
Registered: Jun 2003

posted March 03, 2012 12:41 PM

Ironically my Derann TCM digest has MUCH better color than my Iver digest... although the Iver digest is a much better edit, of course. However, Derann's came with half a Scars of Dracula trailer on the end. I always thought that a little odd. They had half the trailer negative left over from the part they used for the Movie Magazine Hammer edition which started with the first half of the Scars trailer... and they threw the second half on the end of TCM - guess it was laying around and they didn't quite know what to do with it.

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Hugh Thompson Scott
Film God

Posts: 3063
From: Gt. Clifton,Cumbria,England
Registered: Jan 2012

posted March 03, 2012 07:00 PM

Tom,Adrian,put your minds at ease,the longer version was not just for hire,as Ive already said it was the very first run that was done that way,then a shortened but improved print was done,although
Iwas quite happy with the original.When Iver released the'scope
"My Name is Nobody",they missed the whole point of the film and
omitted the end of the film,making the excuse that an audience
would accept the end that was given as contractually they
couldn't release it full length!It's another reason why my copy was quickly disposed of and nailed on 16mm complete.As for
"Texas" prints keep appearing,lets face it,it certainly put Iver
on the film collecting map so there must be a few copies
floating around before it was abbrieviated.

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Glenn Fossum
Junior
Posts: 3
From: Reinsvoll, Norway
Registered: Sep 2014

posted September 17, 2014 08:56 AM

Hi there..im new to this forum..and heard alot of good stuff..So i thought i could try to ask u about an TCM Reel i bought the other day from a guy in israel,its one 400 reel..and he said it was from " american pictures " in america..and it was super rare.. it was not like the UK editions..he havent seen another copy in 30 years..so im just curious..do u guys know something about this release ? and there is different editing.. Greetings Glenn..

--------------------
Glenn Fossum

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Tom Photiou
Film God

Posts: 4837
From: Plymouth U.K
Registered: Dec 2003

posted September 19, 2014 11:37 AM

As far as I am aware there were only two 400 foot extracts released, one from Derann which was approx. 330ft long and only showed excerpts after the first two killing, then Iver themselves release a 400 footer which was a full 400ft and showed all the killings. The Derann version had a free scars of Dracula teaser trailer attached to it. Any other 400 foot version will be news to me. [Wink]

The other releases were from Iver as a 5x400 footer but mainly the 4 x 400 footer which we have.

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Marshall Crist
Master Film Handler

Posts: 300
From: San Pedro, CA USA
Registered: Oct 2008

posted September 19, 2014 12:44 PM

I have been the underbidder on the last two Iver copies of the 400' on eBay. Last one was very faded or I would have gone much higher. If anyone wants to sell me one, I think I can make it worth your while.

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Brian Hendel
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 902
From: New York, New York
Registered: Jun 2003

posted October 01, 2014 06:06 PM

I think that was my print. Considering the fade, it went for more than it was worth so it's good you stopped bidding. I'm holding onto my Iver feature and my Derann digest which both look pretty darn good. The cool thing about the Derann digest is that it has the John Laraquette prologue narration that Iver clipped off the feature.

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Brian Fretwell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1785
From: London, UK
Registered: Jun 2014

posted February 26, 2015 06:06 PM

I've just found an old Derann catalogue (A5 colour) that shows some films "to be released late 1978" and it has TCSM, Dark Star, Wombling Free and Treasure Island 400ft extracts, but all are overprinted in green as "Withdrawn". The box art for all but "Wombling Free" is shown (in B&W) and clearly has "Free preview trailer included" on all of them.

I only have an odd reel of this film, the final reel and last time I showed it is was rather faded. I'll have to have another look.

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Bill Shenette
Film Handler

Posts: 85
From: Shrewsbury, MA, USA
Registered: Nov 2014

posted March 19, 2015 08:16 AM

I met this guy in person got an autograph :)R.A. Mihailoff,
This guy was the one who took up the mighty chainsaw for the title role in 1990's he was in the In the first Texas Chainsaw movie,?

--------------------
Live life to the fullest each and every day. You never know when you will be called home to Glory.

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Mark Williams
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 846
From: West Sussex
Registered: Mar 2007

posted March 19, 2015 04:30 PM

Guys,

Please check out this article I've just written on TCM on my website.

http://www.smash-it-up.com/articles.html

My first experience of Texas was secretly borrowing a full length 8mm print from the film shop I worked in on a Saturday called Movieden which was located in Lower Addiscombe Road,Croydon,I was only 13 at the time so would have not been allowed to rent it otherwise.

The film was quite an experience for me as I had only ever seen Hammer Horror movies and this was very very far removed from any of them.

I have since gone on to own at least 4 full length prints in the past and the 400fts released by Iver/Derann too.

I'm still looking for that fabled 5x 400ft rental only version though [Smile]

I hope you enjoy my article.

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Harm Jan Heling
Film Handler

Posts: 33
From: Dutch, living in the Czech Republic
Registered: Jan 2013

posted March 27, 2015 04:46 PM

Just found my 4x400' print again, I knew I had it somewhere :-)

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Steve Carter
Master Film Handler

Posts: 282
From: Bristol, UK
Registered: Apr 2015

posted April 27, 2015 01:21 PM

I have just picked up a print on 2 x 600ft reels at a ridiculous low price. I don't know if it's the Iver print squeezed onto these two reels or if there is 400 ft missing, as I have not viewed it yet as projector is awaiting parts.Any thoughts?

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Brian Fretwell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1785
From: London, UK
Registered: Jun 2014

posted September 06, 2017 03:51 PM

With the death of Tobe Hooper and another mention on the forum I got out my odd part, described as the last half hour, that I bought at a convention many years ago. I suspected it would have faded, but despite not being able to see a stock edge mark it was looking pretty good, the leader countdown numbers were in several colours all looking quite correct.

As this runs from the last surviving girl being tied up and put in the pick-up to be taken to the house it works well as it stands.

My biggest surprise when checking the tail for film stock name was that it had end of part 5 so it seems to have come from an early un-edited print from Buck labs. As the whole reel (un-boxed) was only £5 I think I got a bargain.

Thinking back to its original UK release those hire prints must have done good business as only the GLC gave it a cinema licence, so it could only be seen in London or from hired prints on 16mm or Super8 in the rest of the country.

[ September 07, 2017, 05:55 AM: Message edited by: Brian Fretwell ]

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Burton Sundquist
Master Film Handler

Posts: 318
From: Burnaby, B.C. Canada
Registered: Feb 2017

posted July 29, 2018 09:59 PM

...Through this thread I learned of the different releases, lengths and distributors. I had seen and even bid on 2 separate 400' Iver digests, each selling over $250. I really wanted the scarce Full-feature Iver release, and was quite surprised to see it pop up on eBay last month, even more surprised there was only one other bidder, and I won the print. The version I received is indeed the full feature, originally mounted on 5 X 400', but arrived with reel 1 on 600', reels 2 and 3 on 400' reels in blue and white Iver boxes and reels 4 and 5 joined and mounted on 600'.
Aside from an emulsion scratch on reel 2 that comes and goes, the print is clean. The color is slightly muted although the picture is sharp. Some scenes have a slight pinkish hue but the print is not Red. I am impressed with how well this print has held up. The sound quality is very good throughout, I was unable to detect any deficiencies worth noting. Considering the limited number of these prints produced and seldom up for offer, I am happy with it and despite the reel 2 scratch I consider myself fortunate.
I might ad I owe it to the many contibutors of this thread for their extensive knowledge and experience regarding this particular print. For that I am Thankful.

[ July 30, 2018, 12:34 AM: Message edited by: Burton Sundquist ]

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Tom Photiou
Film God

Posts: 4837
From: Plymouth U.K
Registered: Dec 2003

posted July 30, 2018 06:49 AM

Burton, you did very well to find this 5 x 400ft full feature. We only have the 4 x 400ft version but ours is blessed with very good colour still, at present it is one i keep looking at to consider keeping or not.
The only problem i have with mine, (since brand new in 79) is the last 400ft is around 4 maybe 5 frames out of sync. Fortunately 90% of this reel is noise and screaming so it is only noticed in a few small sections, aside this its an almost perfect print.
When we first bought it Iver were not helpful, i sent it back for a re record or replacement and they said no as leader had been shortened, to say we were cheesed off was an understatement as we never cut anything off, we never did that until prints were checked fr faults, all we did was trim the tip for threading. If this had been today's trading environment they would not have not have got away with it.
Still a good old horror classic though [Wink]

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Osi Osgood
Film God

Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005

posted August 01, 2018 11:53 AM

I have to say that this has never bee a favorite film of mine, but I also have to say that it is an EXCELLENT print, considering that (from what I understand) this was originally filmed on 16MM to begin with and it looks GREAT for an orignal source that was 16MM!

--------------------
"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "

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David Skillern
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 582
From: South Wales
Registered: Apr 2006

posted August 05, 2018 05:20 AM

I bought my copy from Phil from Classic Home Cinema at his stall at Blackpool Northwest Film Convention last November - I haven't got around to screening it yet !!

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